The chip in your passport

Vincent Camilleri writes: We have read lately in The Times that future Maltese passports are to be adjusted with the intention of having a small chip, a different photo and fingerprints of the holder. I was under the impression that only crime suspects have their fingerprints taken for obvious reasons. In this respect, would the Maltese authorities be tampering with our human rights because I would definitely object to this?

I do not think that increasing security features in passports amounts to tampering with human rights. If anything, they have become all the more necessary now that the threat of terrorism has once again become imminent and this time in countries, such as London and Rome, which are so popular with Maltese citizens.

My view is that allowing more information to be provided in our passport is a small price to pay for the benefit of added security when we are travelling.

But let us understand better what this is all about.

It is true our passports will, in the near future, start to be changed so that new security features can be introduced, making these important documents more secure and more difficult to forge. Passports issued to EU citizens have long had common features.

For instance, many passports are already machine-readable.

However, last December, a new EU law was adopted to introduce new standards for security features and biometrics in passports and travel documents issued by EU member states, including Malta. The new security features seek to establish a genuine link between the holder of the passport and the document itself.

As a result, passports will now be required to include a storage medium, typically a "chip", which shall contain two features: firstly, a facial image, that is, a picture of the face of the holder of the passport and, secondly, the fingerprints of the holder copied in interoperable formats, that is, in a manner that can be digitally screened and checked.

The data must be secured and the storage medium, or "chip", must guarantee the integrity, authenticity and the confidentiality of the data.

Moreover, additional technical specifications, including the prevention of unauthorised access to the data, can also be agreed. Additional specifications which may remain secret to the authorities may also be agreed in order to enhance security features. Obviously, the law only lists the features that are not secret.

However, for those who have concerns on data protection and human rights, there are important safeguards.

The information that is stored in the passport can only be used for specific purposes. These are to verify the authenticity of the passport itself and/or to verify the identity of the holder of the passport. Using the data for other reasons would be in breach of the law.

No more, no less.

Moreover, if you have any reason to question the accuracy of the information that is stored in the chip, you have the right to verify it and, where appropriate, ask for rectification or erasure. Member states have until around mid next year to comply with this law with regard to the facial image on the chip and three full years, till the end of 2007, to comply with regard to the fingerprints.

But don't worry, your current passport remains valid until it expires or until you are called in to change it by the authorities. You will not be prevented from travelling merely because your passport is not yet in line with these specifications.

Note that the new law applies to passports but not to identity cards. You can still travel with your identity card within the EU, even though I have come across complaints that immigration authorities in the UK and in France have, at times, stopped Maltese citizens who presented their ID cards. This should not have been done and can be reported to the European Commission.

So this law does not change any requirement presently in force within the EU whereby, as an EU citizen, you can use either a passport or an identity card when travelling to other EU countries.

Equally, this law does not change any requirement presently in force within the Schengen countries whereby you can travel within this zone without going through immigration and without having to produce any document at all.

The law applies to all EU countries, including Malta, and it also applies to Norway, Iceland and now also Switzerland. Ironically, however, it does not apply to the UK and Ireland, which are not part of the Schengen area.

Readers who would like to raise issues or ask a question are invited to send an e-mail to Dr Busuttil to contact@simonbusuttil.com, making reference to this column.